St Johnstone lift ban on Celtic flags and banners for Boxing Day clash

St Johnstone have announced that the ban on flags and banners at their Boxing Day clash with Celtic has been lifted.

Celtic prematurely made the same announcement on Monday following a major misunderstanding after the ban was announced 24 hours earlier, but the Perth club have now confirmed that police have allowed a relaxation for the McDiarmid Park encounter.

A statement from St Johnstone read: 'Further discussion has today taken place between all parties and a request from the clubs made to Police Scotland that the ban be lifted has been accepted.

Relaxed: St Johnstone have lifted a ban on Celtic supporters bringing flags and banners to McDiarmid Park on Boxing Day

Fiery: The ban was originally imposed over fears Celtic fans would use the banners to conceal the lighting of smoke flares

'Safety remains of paramount
importance to both clubs and the match will be managed with this in mind
and with Police Scotland having reviewed this policy, the two clubs are
now putting their faith in all supporters that they shall support their
respective teams in a manner which befits what should be a great game
of football on a special date in the football calendar.'

The ban was initially imposed in a bid to prevent fans using flags to hide the use of pyrotechnics.

Celtic admitted they had jumped the gun with their statement on Monday but they welcomed the confirmation of the decision.

Clampdown: Celtic fans displayed a banner of William Wallace and Bobby Sands during their clash with AC Milan

In
a statement, the club said: 'For clarity, Celtic Football Club has
received confirmation that flags and banners will now be permitted at
the match against St Johnstone on Boxing Day.

'Last week, Celtic Football Club noted the advice given by local police regarding safety, flags and banners at the match.

'We
acknowledge we had not received final confirmation yesterday in terms
of a change. However, we are pleased, following consultation and
discussion over the past couple of days, that the initial decision has
been reviewed by the police and St Johnstone FC.'

Police Scotland’s press office was unable to provide confirmation immediately after the clubs announced the decision.

Showing support: One young fan cheers Celtic on and holds his scarf in during the recent AC Milan match

Meanwhile, Neil Lennon has played down talk of Celtic going the whole of the Scottish Premiership campaign unbeaten ahead of the trip to St Johnstone on Boxing Day.

The Hoops' 2-0 win over Hearts at Parkhead on Saturday stretched their run to 16 games and at the pre-match press conference for the McDiarmid Park match, skipper Scott Brown said: 'We want to go the whole season without getting beat. We want to get as many points on the board as possible as well.'

However, the Hoops boss applied the brakes to any notions of a runaway title season.

Lowering expectations: Celtic manager Neil Lennon has played down predictions his side could go the whole season unbeaten

'It is something that people talk about very prematurely,' said Lennon, whose team are already 10 points clear of Dundee United at the top of the table.

'I wouldn't say (it was) impossible but it is a very difficult thing to do so I wouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves on that.

'We are 16 games into a 38-game season so we are not even halfway there, so it is still a lot to ask for.'